It is known in the art for hydraulic dampers for vehicles to include a hydro-mechanical compression stop assembly to provide for the generation of an additional damping force. Exemplary dampers provided with such a hydro-mechanical compression stop assembly are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,619,199 and 2,729,308. Such hydro-mechanical stop assemblies include a closing shield that is biased in an extended position by a spring, and configured to close a main flow channel of a base valve assembly depending on an axial position of a piston rod. The damping force provided by the hydro-mechanical stop assembly depends primarily on the position of the piston rod, and provides a very progressive increase in damping force as the rod progresses through a compression stroke.
The axial position of the spring on such a hydro-mechanical compression stop assembly is critical for the operation thereof. More particularly, if the spring buckles as a result of repeated stop engagements or otherwise deviates from its axial position, the closing shield attached to the spring may not entirely close this channel, thus yielding unpredictable results.
Accordingly, there remains a need for improvements to hydraulic dampers having a hydro-mechanical compression stop assembly.
As such it is an object of the present invention to provide a hydraulic damper with a hydro-mechanical compression stop assembly that provides a high and progressive increase of damping force in dependence on rod displacement, features improved axial stability, is of simple construction, is cost efficient and simple to manufacture.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a hydraulic damper with a hydro-mechanical compression stop assembly that maximizes available compression stroke length.